Bettina Hansen: September 2011 Archives

Under the dome of Gampel Pavilion, the lady Huskies took to the court for a practice open to the press. I'm used to throwing elbows (only at you, Bob Child) to get a good spot in the mob of photographers that usually crowd the court for these women. To my delight, today, I was the only one.

Two things of note - Caroline Doty's return and the fresh (yet strangely familiar) faces of three new freshmen.

Doty seemed excited to be back, after being cleared to play following a year on the bench from a third ACL injury. She admitted taking it slow has been difficult.

"Coach said to me one day, 'Who do you think you are, Kobe Bryant?' Doty said. "You are like a kid going into the candy store and eating all the candy. I told him that I was hungry. He told me, if I get too full, I won't be able to do anything."

She wasn't taking it too easy in practice, sprinting up and down the court, playing defense and making shots.

The most talked about new face on the Huskies didn't seem that new to me at all.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, the top-ranked recruit from the class of 2011, bears a striking resemblance to Maya Moore. Fitting, since she's wearing Maya's number 23.

I mean, really. Whoa. Someone get this girl a pair of hoop earrings for good luck!

Guard Brianna Banks of Georgia is another new face on the team.

Kiah Stokes, a 6-3 center from Iowa, rounds out the new freshman class.

Other than that, it was business as usual for the pranksters. Stefanie Dolson found a bug on the court when the girls walked in...

...and she proceeded to throw it on her teammates, inciting shrieks from everyone. It's going to be another fun year!

PRO TIP: The beginning of the season is the time to stock up on clean shots of athletes for use throughout the year. Take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere of practice to look for expressions and moments that go beyond their game faces on the court.

Photo by John Woike. January 01, 2009 - Orange, CT Runners that participated in the Annual Chilli Run in Orange cheer George "Doc" Whitney as he blows out 90 candles on two cakes, one to celebrate his 90th birthday, the other to congratulate him on being the first 90 year old to finish the race. Whitney, a retired veterinarian, started running at the age of 80 when he discovered he could walk to the end of his driveway without losing his breath. It took plenty of breath to blow out all the candles after running the 5k road race which he finished in a time of 46 minutes flat. He turned 90 on December 19th.

This week, our blog Eye Contact marks its first birthday.

We created this space as a safe haven for photography - a place where we didn't have to fight for pages, color ink, or picture play. We wanted to answer a lot of the questions we were being asked by readers who encountered us on assignment. We aimed to bring the important discussions we have about pictures out of the office and into the open.

On behalf of the entire staff, I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to ponder our images and essays. Many of these posts are a labor of love, brought into being long after our work days are done.

We hope that the insights and experiences shared here spread the passion we feel about photojournalism with you.

Thank you for taking the time to visit us. We value your thoughts, please feel free to share them in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter.

From A Photographic Lifestyle by Brooke LaValley:
"So often while on assignment interesting things happen that have nothing to do with the story that the reporter has requested. Just because it is unrelated does not make it less valuable or beautiful, so I like to take these pictures anyway to recognize their presence in the world. The key is staying focused on both... Although is has long been a discussion of whether or not photography is a "Fine Art" if you speak to any photojournalist they will tell you how difficult it can be to find the beauty in some situations that are poorly lit or uneventful, and that the process alone qualifies it against any other medium. In these cases all of the regular tools are stripped away and all that is left is finding something, anything that is compelling. These guys can make art anywhere!"

Mark Mirko did this compelling series on UConn football players and their tattoos: Under the Armor.

I grew up in the southwest and have never been through a hurricane in my lifetime. Seeing the size of Irene, rolling up the east coast, was a little terrifying, to say the least.

Friday I studied maps and assembled my hurricane kit. Fortunately, I had plenty of good advice from other experienced photojournalists and stocked up on Hefty bags, gaffer's tape, towels, fix-a-flat, food, water, batteries, an extra AC inverter and lightweight clothing.

The day of the storm, I was assigned to the New Haven / Branford / Milford areas. Luckily, a friend and colleague, Michelle McLoughlin, offered to let me stay with her in New Haven and team up. She drives an SUV and grew up in Florida, a hurricane veteran. She also knows the shoreline area a lot better than I do. She was my saving grace.

We left her house in New Haven at about 6:00 AM Sunday to see what kinds of people would be out checking out the storm. There were already branches down everywhere and the whipping wind made it difficult to walk straight. We found Kevin Houlberg of West Haven walking his dog Hollywood in West Haven along the beach.

Several people were out to experience Irene firsthand, like this cyclist in bright reflective orange.

Streets were iffy, as trees kept falling taking powerlines with them. It was quite the spectacle for residents, who walked as though sightseeing through the damage.

I thought it was funny that the homeowners of this place on Ocean Avenue in West Haven tried to give their fisherman statue some respite from the storm.

The water along Ocean Avenue in West Haven was churning but there really wasn't anywhere to shoot waves crashing, as much as we tried.

After a couple hours of shooting, we went to the Pequonnock Yacht Club in New Haven and found a couple guys who were heading back to City Point Yacht Club to check on their boats. We followed them over there and found a lot of activity from the owners and members checking on boats, and hauling in anything that might float away. The water level was rapidly rising, the combination of high tide and the storm surge.

We stayed there for a while to ride out the worst of the storm, because there was plenty to shoot, friendly folks, shelter and power for us to transmit images back. A pretty perfect situation to be in.

By that point, my 17-55 lens had become extremely fogged on the inside, and no matter how much I wiped it down, it fogged. I only had one other lens, my 14 mm, and wanted to save it for after the storm. I chose to shoot everything with the fogged lens while it continued to rain so that I had a lens that was good for the destruction pictures afterwards. If you have two wide lenses, keep one dry! You'll be grateful when the storm subsides and you need a clear lens.

After the worst subsided, we drove around a bit to see where flooding had occurred and found people enjoying the spray of the cresting waves at Long Wharf in New Haven.

Chapel Park (aka Criscuolo Park) in New Haven had been completely submerged in water, and tons of people from the neighborhood had come out to see it, like this couple who are expecting a baby any day now.

After New Haven, we decided to head to Branford to check out the Stony Creek area for damage. First, we saw this gigantic downed tree, and stopped to find Frank Brunson taking a picture of his two daughters, Fiona, 5, left, and Molly, 4, right, in front of a huge tree that fell in front of the First Congregational Church in Branford. It was so funny to see people taking pictures in front of the damage like it was a Disneyland attraction. They were really sweet and live down the street from the church.

Michelle had a feeling about Stony Creek, so we headed to their Main street area. Not seeing much but an Ice Machine in the middle of the street, we started driving away when I thought I saw something that looked out of place. Sure enough, we stopped to check it out and saw this 50-ft sailboat perched on someone's deck.

We drove around to the house and found Jim and Lisa Gerrity trying to figure out how to get someone to remove the 50-foot sailboat that drifted into the deck and dock of their house. They graciously invited us in to check it out. What a surprise it was, Lisa said, to see a 50-ft sailboat headed right towards your house. Thankfully, it turned sideways and lodged itself into the deck instead of slicing right through the house while they rode out the storm.

The next spot we wanted to check out was Milford, so we headed towards the Woodmont area and were greeted by Darryl Nemeth and his brother Don walking down a flooded Merwin Avenue. They told us that they had just been at a 'hurricane party' of folks gathered at the end of the street.

Sure enough, the drinks were flowing like the floodwaters and beach music accompanied the jovial crowd.

Walking across to Villa Rosa, the mood was quite different as a 100-year-old decorative sea wall had crumbled under the weight of the water.

Hundreds of starfish had become beached in the storm, and this woman was throwing them back out to sea.

Kevin Swanepoel of Milford chased down one of his four lost kayaks in the low tide.

Walking down towards Hillside Avenue, the amount of damage increased significantly. Concrete was cracked and tossed aside. Walls were torn away, revealing innards of furniture and beach toys. The mood was quiet, somber.

We passed a woman with arms full, holding a bunch of clothing on hangers, taken from a closet. We introduced ourselves and she invited us in. Her boyfriend, Nick Krashefski, walked us through their destroyed living room.

'It's inevitable, It's gonna happen,' Krashefski said about the damage. 'The most important thing is, no one got hurt.'

As we walked out, we passed the group partying with the music, but this time, we didn't feel so jovial.

The next morning, we rose early again, dispatched to the Cosey Beach area of East Haven. National Guard troops had the area closed off, and Cloe Poisson was in position to head in with residents as they got a first glimpse of their homes since the storm. Access was cut off to us from there though, so we decided to head over into the Brazos section of Cosey Beach, which wasn't guarded by National Guard troops. Heck, there weren't even any police over there. Residents said the firefighters that came through to check on the damage were the first emergency personnel they had seen the entire time.

East Haven Firefighter Rob Ashton was taking stock of gas leaks and building stability. While the National Guard was deployed to the other side of Cosey Beach, residents said they had received no assistance from Guard troops or police as of Monday morning.

After spending the morning in East Haven, we decided to head over to the Point Beach section of Milford and found this Ice Cream truck, driven by Jeff Fitzgerald and his wife Sherri. The two drove around the beachfront areas of Milford affected by the storm. From left, Richard Whitten, 11, Tyler Pinto, 9, and Jake Owens, 11, all kids who live in the neighborhood, stopped to buy treats. 'For everyone who doesn't have power, at least they have ice cream,' Sherri Fitzgerald said. The couple live in Milford and didn't have power in their home either.

Walking around the neighborhood, we encountered Orville Greunke of Point Beach Drive cleaning up. The storm washed away a whole wall in his living room and straight through to his garage.

Joe Kubick of Seymour helped shovel landscaping rocks out of his brother's driveway on Point Beach Drive.

After Point Beach, we headed to Melba street in Bayshore in Milford. Cloe had made some nice pictures there the day before, and the striking thing was how much sand and sediment had washed up into the street and homes.

This home's foundation was completely swept away, and water rushed straight through the first floor.

Where the water could get under the concrete, it was just peeled away.

Looking down Melba street, people progressed with the messy cleanup.

I live in the Hartford area but stayed in New Haven one more night to do one more early shift. I hadn't yet seen Stratford, so first I headed to the Lordship section near Sikorsky airport.The beach at the end of Washington Parkway had completely eroded away, exposing a two-way gas main. A huge rock and a heavy trash receptacle had fallen on the main, so Ken Moulton of Southern Connecticut Gas Company was working to clear it while Rick Battis, top, of Dalling Construction, was working with crews to scrape sand off roads and return it to the heavily eroded beach.

I had heard a Red Cross shelter in Bridgeport was still open, so I drove over there and found Richard Hudson of Bridgeport sleeping on the floor. At the peak of the storm, the two Bridgeport Red Cross shelters held about 700 people, between Bassick School and Harding. The Harding shelter closed Sunday night, but several people needing special assistance remained in the shelter through Tuesday morning, having slept there since Saturday night. Hudson didn't know if he lost power or not, but was told to evacuate, and brought to Bassick. After his cot broke Monday night, he just curled up on the floor.

After transmitting those photos, I headed to Madison, which we hadn't covered yet. The fishing pier at West Wharf beach had crumbled and I found two men sitting in a damaged cottage right next to the Madison Beach Hotel.

Kenny Singh, left, and his father Anan Singh, of Westchester New York, sat in the sand and sediment of their flooded out cottage on West Wharf Beach in Madison, two days after Tropical Storm Irene swept through the area. Water washed out the front screen of the cottage and brought a thick layer of sand throughout the home. The Singhs are helping to build the large new Madison Beach Hotel next door and were staying there for the last three months. 'Left here Friday and it was pristine,' said Kenny. 'I guess this means the summer's over now.'

As I was heading over to East Wharf, I had been told to look for tree damage. I asked the next police officer I saw, where the worst tree damage was. 'Bradley Corners Road, right off of Race Hill,' he said. Sure enough, a huge tree brought down lines, poles and transformers in a tangle. A girl stopped by with a camera, and told me there was a lady living in the house, whose driveway was blocked by a transformer. So I knocked on her door, and boy was she happy to see me.

Barbara McDonald, 77, of Madison, had been stuck in her home on Bradley Corners road since Saturday night, when a large tree fell on power lines, and the whole electrical pole and transformer fell in her driveway. McDonald lives alone and had a total knee replacement three and a half weeks ago, so her mobility is limited, but she's grateful that no trees fell on her home and for the neighbors who stop by to say hello. Residents said they had not seen CL&P crews out yet, as of Tuesday afternoon, but that local police had been by to survey the area.

I left Barbara with a box of Cheez-its and a whole bunch of granola bars from my hurricane kit and she was glad to get some goodies and chat with company after being alone in the house for so long. By that point, I was exhausted and finally headed to my home back in the Hartford area. It was fine, and judging by my clocks, never lost power once.

The next day, I headed down to the Madison Ice House because Michelle had heard of some long lines there. I got there several minutes before they were about to sell their last bag.

Traffic jammed in the parking lot Wednesday afternoon after they sold their last few bags of ice. 'We're trying,' owner Jeff Bailey said. 'We can only make so much,' Bailey said he only gets one delivery a day and the way to find out if they have ice is to call 860-388-4202 before coming down. Hundreds of thousands of people were still without power.

I headed then to East Wharf to see the damage there. The force of the water ripped up concrete and asphalt along Middle Beach Road in Madison, right in front of the Madison Beach Club.

Driving out, I spotted a CL&P truck and stopped to check it out. Melanie Simmons of Higganum, working as an engineer for Connecticut Light and Power, was inspecting a tree tangled up with a utility pole on Island Avenue in Madison. 'This is uh, impressive, to say the least,' Simmons said about the damage. She said she'd been working 16-hour minimum shifts and finds it hard to sleep when she gets her eight hours off. 'How do you sleep with this stress?' she said.

Earlier in the day I had heard Clinton First Selectman Willie Fritz on 99.9 talking about having a free pasta dinner at the town hall. What a great resource those radio stations were for information. They opened up their programming for people to call in and share their news and experiences. So many of my ideas came from people who called into the show.

Sue Mugavero of Clinton spent most of the day coordinating and cooking the free pasta dinner at the Clinton Town Hall Wednesday evening. The pasta dinner served hundreds with 30 pounds of donated pasta from Shop Rite and bread from Stop and Shop. Many also stopped by to charge their cell phones and laptops and just check in with neighbors.

The pasta dinner was a success, as a steady stream of people flowed in the door, relieved to have a hot meal and spend time with neighbors. Kellie Ranaudo of Clinton, right, takes a plate from volunteer Colleen Brooks after Jim Mugavero (front) put in a fresh batch of penne.

By Friday, many people remained without power, and I headed to Andover where volunteers from the town's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) as well as the CERT from RHAM High School were distributing MRE's and cases of bottled water to residents. This is Ryan Harlow, 9, of Andover, one of the volunteers.

Before the CERT volunteers arrived, I encountered Joan Soucy, the coordinator of the Andover Congregational Church food pantry and her granddaughter, Amanda Nieves, 13, picking up supplies to deliver to some of the elderly folks and families with young children in Andover. I asked if I could ride along with them. This picture is of Amanda giving a hug to Pat Mancini, after they dropped off food and water at her home Friday.

In the car, Joan told me a story about how, 34 years ago, when she had her son, she couldn't afford shoes that fit him properly. A visiting nurse graciously gave her a voucher to buy shoes through the Salvation Army. Since then, she hasn't been able to turn away when there is a need for help, be it a bell-ringer at Christmastime, or a visitor to the food pantry.

'What goes around, comes around,' Joan told me. 'When I was in need, I got help. We're all human, we all have our frailties.'

Joan and Amanda delivered food and water to 37 homes Wednesday, and their oldest recipient was 105 years old.

For me, that was the most striking thing about the storm. People were out and about, really participating in each others lives, curious about shared experiences and generously helping each other. Joan and Amanda really exemplified that spirit.

PRO TIP: Team up if you can. It's a lot easier to handle the extreme stress and make smart decisions if you have a good partner. It's also safer and easier to approach subjects together, especially when dealing with delicate situations. People can be very emotional and on edge after losing their home in a storm, understandably. Show humanity and compassion - listen first and take pictures second - don't just start snapping away. They will open up to you much more that way, and their story will reveal itself if they want it to be told. Also, always keep one lens dry, so when the storm passes, you won't have two fogged lenses. If your camera gets wet, toss it in a bag of rice to draw out the moisture.

Shot with a Nikon D300 and D300s - Majority on a 17-55 and 70-200 and 14mm on Aperture Priority at F4, Cloudy WB.